Résumé partiel In the present study, different biochemical and physiological mechanisms associated with oxidative protection were characterized in a semi-arid adapted species (cashew) submitted to drought, salinity and heat applied individually or in combination. The results demonstrate that cashew show high antioxidant capacity against the isolated effects of drought and salinity. This antioxidant protection is associated with the maintenance of the water status and the efficient interaction of the enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant systems, avoiding H2O2 accumulation and lipid peroxidation. The activity of SOD and CAT, as the ASA and GSH antioxidants play a central role in oxidative protection in salt-treated plants, while the activity of SOD and APX associated with ASA and GSH are essential in plants exposed to drought. Oxidative stress is induced in cashew plants submitted to temperatures above 35 ÂC, as indicated by H2O2 accumulation and lipid peroxidation, which may be due to enhanced photorespiration. The antioxidant enzymatic (SOD-CAT-APX) and nonenzymatic (ASA e GSH) systems are intensively modulated by heat stress. Salt-pretreated plants show higher stomatic restriction under heat stress than those previously exposed to drought. This results evidence that salt stress limits heat dissipation through transpiration more than drought when plants are exposed to high temperatures. APX activity is reduced in salt-pretreated plants under heat stress in comparison with drought-pretreated plants, suggesting that salinity could prominently affect the antioxidant role of this enzyme. Conversely, the antioxidant systems are dramatically restricted in drought-pretreated plants in relation to those initially exposed to salinity when these plants are subjected to high temperatures. This restriction may be associated with high oxidative injuries in plants exposed to drought followed by heat stress. According to the results of this work, high temperatures applied individually or in combination with drought enable oxidative stress more than salt stress associated with heat. In general, oxidative changes induced by drought and heat or salinity and heat are distinct from those triggered by these factors applied individually, as the metabolic alterations caused by combined stresses could not be estimated from the specific responses to drought, salinity or heat.